


I've Waited So Long For This (Fictober Submission)

by PerpetualSpinster



Category: Black Panther (2018)
Genre: Alpha M'Baku (Marvel), Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 20:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16839775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerpetualSpinster/pseuds/PerpetualSpinster
Summary: A trip to the mountains unveils some suspicious disturbances in the snow caps.





	I've Waited So Long For This (Fictober Submission)

“We gotta hit the slopes now before it gets too crowded!” Sarah exclaimed.

You, Sarah, Michelle, and Taylor have all been pals your days at the state university a few years ago. You were, for lack of better words, the token of the group and you knew the role you played. When the party was on, Michelle would gas you up so that you can show the latest craze off to the other partygoers. If there was something political on TV that needed further explanation, Sarah was the one to ask for your two cents. Taylor was the one who acted the most down, since she came from a poor neighborhood and had a Black boyfriend. 

And somehow, with all of these crazy white folk, you decided to go on a reunion trip to the snow capped mountains of a state that has more Starbucks than Black people. The reason being that one, you needed a vacation, and two, Sarah had a hookup through her firm and it was basically paid for.

“Sarah, hang on, where is my shower gel? And my Garnier Nutrisse, you whore!” Michelle exclaimed from the bathroom.

“You can survive one day with your hair being washed, it’s gonna be trapped under a helmet anyway. Plus it’s not healthy to wash it everyday, right (Y/N)?”

Here she goes. This wasn’t your Garnier that was missing, yet somehow the subject of hair drug you into this conversation. 

“True, and I am more than ready to go. I’m sweating like buckets, man.” You say with your heavy duty coat and gear on. 

“Aight, I’m ready bitches!!” Taylor shouted waddling down the steps to the front door. 

“Ok, everyone is present and accounted for? Great! Let’s get some skiing! Hopefully our tour guide is hot!” Sarah says.

You roll your eyes at the thought. Sarah thought the wierdest guys were hot because they were ‘mysterious’. More like serial killers looking for victims. 

Making it to the main building of the ski area, you guys check in and wait to be attended to.

“So, who thinks they are going to hook up on this trip this week?” Michelle is cheesing sharper than cheddar as her hand shoots up like a volunteer for dick.

“Michelle, you always say you’re going to put yourself out there, but you never do! You really do need to get some kind of romance in your life. Broken pussy, amiright??” Sarah looks to you for a cosign. 

You were on your phone the entire time, because you know they were just into some white mess so you just look up at her and nod.

She huffs, crossing her arms. “(Y/N), I really hope you will be open with us during this trip. You’re the last person any of us have caught up with and you’ve been super quiet so far.”

You sigh, putting your phone away and looking like you care. “I hate to make you feel like that, Sarah. I’ll try and be more engaging. I’m so happy we have gotten back together again.”

“Hell yeah! What’s new with you? Got a boo?” Michelle asks expectantly.

You shake your head. “No, not for a minute now, actually. Guys have kind of been few and far between as far as dating goes.”

“I could still hook you up with Craig’s brother, if you want? He’s available, and interested…” Taylor sings the word ‘interested’ like that was the keyword bait you were looking for. Problem was, Craig’s brother had a foot fetish. You knew it, they knew it. And you just weren’t ready to have to fuck the back of his throat with your toes as second base. 

“No, I’m still just going to look on my own. Actually, just taking a break. I want this to be about us ladies, patching things up.” 

Michelle looks at you fondly, holding out a hand. You take it, and Sarah and Taylor follow suit, as you all create a sisterly social circle around the table.

“Mind if I cut in, guys?” a voice says.

You all turn around to see an instructor that look like he just got off of lifeguard season. His skin was olive toned and tight from the sun exposure, and his hair was almost bleach blonde with waves. If he wasn’t wearing a ski gear, you’d think he was in the wrong place.

Sarah looked at him intrigued. “Not at all! Come, come! It’s nice to have some testosterone to cut the estrogen around here!” 

“Thank you so much! My name is Jamie, I’ll be your instructor for the day. It’s a beautiful day to be out on the slopes. Any first timers here?”

You and Taylor raise their hands.

“Ok, great! So I’ll be working closely with the two of you to make sure all safety precautions are taken, and form is perfected.” Jamie explains.

Sarah pats his leg. “Oh, well, I could always use a refresher. Every slope is different and not to mention the equipment. So, save some energy for me!” Sarah laughs a little to hard as she hopelessly flirts with Jamie.

He laughs comfortably, like he has been through this before and has a script for everything. “Don’t worry, I have plenty of knowledge and time to go around.”

“Have you ever handled four women at once?” Taylor asks like the crypt keeper coming out of their hole.

Jamie, still cool, says, “I have handled groups upwards of ten people. After that, the program mandates a secondary at least to be on hand.”

“A tag team? My dream scenario…” Taylor coos, looking off into the distance as her mind leaves the room. You all stare at each other, not sure what Taylor was on to give her this  
Jaden Smith level of spaciness.

“So, if we are ready to go, get your skis, and let’s get to it!”

It was stupid cold outside as you stood in one place waiting your turn. The instructor was taking so long with the other girls, that you couldn’t just watched what they were doing and caught on how to do it.

“Oh, I thought you didn’t ski? Great job!” Jamie said, giving you a thumbs up. You return it with no feeling. As the girls get down with the snow, you decide you need a hot toddy, so you return your skis and head for the bar. 

Looking through your phone and sipping, Taylor comes to sit beside you.

“Hey, girl. You’re not feeling it either, huh?” She asks.

You shake your head. “I just got cold, and it was getting boring. You drinkin?”

“Of course! After all the thirst from Sarah towards Jamie, I got secondhand dry mouth.” Taylor says waving down the bartender.

You laugh. “I’m glad you brought that up. Why did you suddenly drop that huge innuendo on Jamie? You got a man, what are you talking about foursomes and shit?”

“Ohh, that was just me trying to join in on the fun. Of course I can’t expect to get laid on this trip, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be funny and annoying to cock block y’all.”

You clink glasses, taking a sip to the madness ahead of you all.

“Oh, before I forget, Jamie said that he would take up on a private walk to see some eerie areas of the non-resort area of the resort. Supposed to be like a haunted cabin, or bigfoot creature, or something. You down?”

You look at her like she should know better. Creepy horror haunted stuff was not your alley of expertise.

“Come on! , (Y/N). He’s bringing some of his buddies, you may find one of em cute, who knows?”

You mull over drink thinking.

“Please, just don’t leave me with them for an hour alone. I’ll have to throw myself in front of an oncoming avalanche.”

You take a deep breath and nod to get her off your back and back to your drink. Who knows, she could get a little snow boo out of it to cling tight to in fear.

Jamie and his friends meet with you all that night to go on the haunted walk in the snow. 

“This here is David and Jackson.” Jamie introduces the men. David looked like an ex-jock who hit their prime in high school, while David was probably the Black friend of his group. Wonder who he will pair off with…

They share pleasantries with all of you before heading off into the dark woods surrounding the resort. Sarah was hugged up on Jamie the entire time, pretending that Jamie was her rock in the scary woods. Michelle and David were hitting it off nicely, whispering to each other as Michelle laughs out loud, everyone shushes her accordingly. And then there was Jackson, who really, really wanted to get to know Taylor.

“Do you come up here often or is this your first time?” 

Taylor wasn’t here for it, since she had a man already. “Yeah, no, this is the first time for me. Same for (Y/N), right?” Taylor looked to you desperately to cut into the conversation but you were not having it. You were tired, way past your bedtime, and ready to call the evening a bust.

You all come over a hill and see cave area within a bunch of jagged rocks.

“There, you see? That is where they say is supposed to be the mountain creature.” Jamie says ominously.

“Mountain creature? So what, a lion, or bear?” Michelle asks.

“No, a creature. Some say it’s part ape, part man, but I haven’t actually seen it.” Jamie notes.

“Sooo, if you haven’t seen it, why should we believe it is real?” Sarah asks Jamie. “Make it come out.”

Jamie laughs nervously. “I can’t just make it come out though-”

David prods Jamie. “Ohh, come on. Jamie! We were supposed to give these ladies a show! Let’s give em what they came for!” David begins to approach the mouth of the cave. Jamie looks visibly worried but trots up to go with him.

Jackson turns to Taylor. “I’ll be right back. Wait for me?” Taylor half nods as he goes off. 

“You kiss your teeth. “Dumbass don’t know the rules? Brothers get got first.” You say under your breath.

Taylor sighs. “We really need to ditch them after this. He is a grenade my body refuses to take for the team. All y’all gonna feel this blast!”

As the guys slowly approach the entrance, Jamie yells back to the girls. “So, the best way to communicate is with hoots. It’s the only form of basic communicate people have said to have witnessed.” Jamie nods to the other guys starting the round of howls off.

Their voices echo down the cave walls, making you get a little nervous as you look around for any wild animals this may attract. Jamie puts his hand up to stop the hoots and listens in the air. They wait, and wait, but silence is all that surrounds them. 

“Well, I can’t help but to think this night is a bust everyone. Come on guys, let’s get back to the cabin with the girls before we freeze to death.” Jackson suggests, walking away quickly.

“HUUA! HUUA! HUUA!” 

The hoots answer back in a lower, more threatening tone. It sounds like several others as the sound reverberates off the mountain and wildlife surrounding them. The whole group freeze as the sound fills the air, giving them chills that the snow couldn’t replicate. You look towards the top of the cave opening and see a large, all encompassing figure.

“WE NEED TO GET THE FUCK OUT!” You shout, pointing to the unknown being. The men run as fast as they could through the snow as they could. Sarah and Michelle book it after you, but you slow down looking back to catch a glimpse of the thing. 

That’s when you see it swing a large club and bring it down to the ground. The earth rumbles underneath your feet as you hear the cracking of ice and snow. The creature retreats behind the caves and that’s when you notice a rush of snow coming towards you.

“Oh God! Shit, come on (Y/N)! Guys, move!” Taylor yells behind you all as you try to outrun the snow, the girls just about clear the hill in front of you, and the guys follow suit. As you reach the midpoint of the mountain, you hit a deep portion of snow that makes you fall face first into the ground as pain shoots up your leg.

“Dammit, shit.” You look up for the group and see Jackson is closest in distance to you. 

“Jackson! Help me, please, I’m stuck!” You plead with him. 

He turns to see you and makes his way back down, but stops in his tracks before he reaches you. Looking past you, he starts to take one step back, then two, before he is full speed running in the opposite direction. 

“Jackson! Jackson! Shit!” You try and drag yourself with you arms and one good leg but you only exhaust yourself further. That’s when you hear the footsteps in the snow behind you.

You lie still, praying for heavenly mercy as you slowly turn behind you to see it. A tall, barreling figure covered in furs, and leather pieces, with the face of a gorilla. It stalks over to you, leaning over your body for a closer look. 

Your breathing is ragged from the running and the air is thin. That coupled with intense fear causes you to blackout.

Your body rocks as you come to. It’s still dark out and you feel the ground moving underneath you. You move but find that you can’t. As you look down, you see that your body is strapped to a board as you are dragged along the ground. You lay back to look up and see the creature taking you across the snow to God knows where.

You attempt to cream but you have tape across your mouth. Your muffled cries upset you more as you are taken hostage to somewhere with no help in sight. A few minutes of you crying and being dragged, the creature stops and stoops to your level, looking down at you. 

He holds a finger to his masked mouth as you gasp and sob to calm down. 

“I only taped your mouth to ensure you wouldn’t cause a raucous.” He says. 

You are amazed that he speaks, and with an accent you haven’t heard around there. His hand reaches for the tape as he yanks it across. Your face stretches in pain.

“Oww!” You squeak as he begins to undo the straps on the board.

“I have splinted your leg as you had sprained it. You should be good after staying off of it a day or two.” The baritone in his melodic voice calmed you significantly. He clearly wasn’t a creature, but an intelligent being.

“Who are you?” You ask as he helps you to standing.

Picking up his board, he turns to walks away, never answering your question. You look behind to see that he placed you a few feet away from where you stay. Your friends had to be worried, you had no idea how long you had been gone. As you limp to the door, you knock once and it flies open. 

“(Y/N)!! OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU??” Michelle exclaims, wrapping her arms around your neck tightly.

“I have no idea, but I need warmth so please…” You pat Michelle to end the tug as you walk into the warm cabin.

The girls had sent the boys away due to their uselessness and this being their idea all along. 

“I just can’t fucking deal with Jackson leaving you behind like that! You know he played dumb until we grilled him further about it. He just ran off! What kind of a man does that?” Taylor says, handing you some hot tea while you have your foot propped on a pillow.

You try and calm them down. “He was scared. Shit, I woulda left him too if I saw that coming towards me too.”

“So do you guys think it’s an experiment gone wrong, or an alien, or what?” Sarah asks. “You know, thank God, you are safe, but I think this should be looked into. What if someone got hurt?”

You look down at your leg. “It didn’t hurt me. I woke up and I was here, with a splint on my leg.”

Sarah looks at you pitifully. “Oh honey, you bumped your head. Anything could’ve happened. You should probably still go to the infirmary. Who knows what else IT could’ve done to you…”

You roll your eyes at her. You didn’t want to give too much detail, that he talked to you, that you were 99% certain he was human and didn’t mean any harm.

The girls went rounds on the subject but you became too tired to care. Going up to your room, you close yourself in and take a moment to breathe staring at the nature around you. You had yet to appreciate your surroundings since you all got there. Sarah was very schedule oriented and since this trip is because of here, everyone else just fell into line. 

Your mind wanders about the man that brought fear to so many, but care to you. Who was he? What was his story? As you stare in the distance, you can just make out the jagged rocks surrounding the cake in which you all disturbed him. You felt sorry for him, being up there, no one to mess with him because of the horrible stories told on him. But on the other hand, envious, because not being bothered by anyone is just what you needed.

Just then you see his being step out of the mouth of the cave. You still couldn’t make out any defining features but you could tell he wasn’t wearing as many furs and the mask wasn’t on his face. You look around the room remembering some binoculars were a part of the room’s decor. You see them on the bookshelf as you hobble to get them and go back to peer through them. You desperately adjust the magnification, but right before your get the picture clear, he is gone. Cursing under your breath you make a possibly dumb plan to get a look at this guy and maybe even talk. You had to know if he was what everyone said he was.

The next couple days, you got a pass from the girls to take it easy and do whatever you felt like doing since you had what they called, a traumatic experience. You took time to go to the infirmary and make sure your leg hadn’t had any worse damage than assumed, getting a compliment from the doctor on the splint. 

Your ankle felt better by the end of the night, so you decided to take a walk without the splint. Your plan was to return the wood used for the splint to him, hoping that would be some kind of peace offering. Getting yourself ready, you slowly creep out of your room, so that none of the girls would hear you leaving. They were all knocked out from a night on the town, so they shouldn’t notice your absence.

Trekking through the snow, your steps get heavy from the moisture of the snow, along with the heaviness of the wood. Pushing through it all, you do make it to the cave after what felt like miles.

Now you wondered how you would get up to the cave. The rocks were not only jagged, but slick with ice and snow that would snap your shins like toothpicks. You thought about maybe luring him out with a woot woot, but that didn’t seem like the smartest thing. A wolf howl in the distance reminded you that you were a meal walking. You check out the cave, walking along the perimeter until you find a path that is sloped enough to walk up.

You slowly walk inside of the cave, which is dark dark, not a single creature is stirring, and you can’t tell otherwise. You aren’t sure if your mind is playing tricks on you or if you hear something but the echo of the cave amplifies even the smallest sounds. You had no intentions of going any further in so you set the wood down, hoping he will get it as you leave.

Heading back down the cave proved difficult, as you slid down a little with every step. Landing a little hard on your backside, you let out a yip that reverberated across the woods. You cover your mouth, cursing yourself as you got up and continued down.

“Grrrrrr…” 

You freeze in your tracks as you hear to the left of you an animalistic growl that brings your heart into your throat. As you peer out of your peripheral, you see the clearly that not one, but at least three wolves were standing in the distance waiting for you to make a move. You had no skills in trying to survive in the wilderness so this scenario was lost on you on how to get out. Do you run? Do you make yourself big and make noises? Lay down and pretend to be dead? None of these options seemed plausible.

“HUUA! HUUA! HUUA!” 

You whip around to see the man of the mountain coming down towards you in full garb. You duck into a fetal position, praying that you just are forgotten about until the situation is handled enough for you to go home. 

He swings his club down and shakes the ground, startling the wolves to run away whimpering. When you get up, the man grabs you, putting you over his shoulder. The sudden weightlessness of your body almost gave you whiplash as you gathered your bearings you scolded him. “Hey! Put me down! I need to go home!”

“It is not safe! The wolves will be out until the morning, they will catch up with you again.” He warns you. 

You felt like crying you were so mad. Why could this not have been a smooth transaction, your curiosity would be the death of you.

He takes you into the cave as darkness obstructs your vision. “I can walk now, if you don’t mind!”

“It is only a bit further, hang on.” He explains.

You didn’t care how far it was, you just wanted off his broad shoulder. You hated heights, and he was a tall guy. Finally light begins to surround the both of you as he sets you down and you observe your surroundings. His living space was way more abstract than you thought it would be. The amount of light is able to emit in here through torches and natural settings was exquisite. Carvings and wood paneling lined the walls and floor, giving is a very homestyle vibe. You touched the wood, feeling its grooves within its smoothness, amazed by the craftsmanship. You stop by the firepit in the middle of the floor warming your hands. 

Looking back at the man, still wearing his mask you get shy suddenly. “Uh, I returned your splints, if you saw them-”

“Yes….I did….” He says with a booming voice.

You weren’t sure what to do next but you talk when you’re nervous. “Thanks again. It really helped me get by. Even the doc had to compliment it. And the wolf attack thing, wow, so crazy how that happened. I didn’t even want to be on this trip, but I was dragged based off of friendly obligations. Those people you saw me with before? I’m with them, but not WITH them, with them. Just polite and cordial, so it’s kind of-”

“Are you done?!” He takes his mask off to reveal his face. 

“Oh my God…” you utter.

He tosses the mask aside, stripping off his outer furs and equipment. “You should save your breath, abstaining from talking. You ever hear of air being limited in caves?” He says, scolding you.

You are still in awe of his appearance. “I’m-I’m sorry, I just didn’t know…”

“The mountain man is human? Yes, you and many others do not.” He says tiredly, sitting on a seat by the fireplace he squeezes the bridge of his nose.

You walk a little closer to him, observing. “I had only heard of you a couple days ago, as I’m not from around here. But you have an exceptional face.”

He turns to you looking at you like you’re nuts. “YOu meet a man that is cut off from civilization living in a cave in a mountain and the first thing you notice is my attractiveness?”

You shrug. “I mean, I’m sure you’re a nice guy too, but you’re doing a disservice hiding that face from society.”

He shakes his head, shaming you. “I don’t owe any services. If people would quit wandering here, no one would have to worry about my face.” 

You nod understandingly. “Do you have anyone else here with you?”

He stares in the fire blankly. “I do not.”

You grab a chair, sitting next to him. “And how long have you been here?”

He blinks slowly, “Almost my whole life.”

“Wow! By yourself?”

“Not necessarily. Just in the last decade or so have I been alone.” His eyes appear sorrowful as the shadows of flames dance across his face.

You look into the fire, feeling for him. “What’s your name?”

“I am M’Baku.” he says.

“Nice to meet you, M’Baku. I am (Y/N).” You hold your hand out for him to shake. He looks at it curiously before taking it. Your hand fits snugly in his mighty one, warm despite just being out in the cold.

Once you break from his shake, you continue. “Do you have any family to go to? Any loved ones?”

M’Baku sighs. “They have all moved on to other areas. We used to inhabit a great deal of land in this area but we were lawfully or unlawfully forced to move on for use of the resort. I found no reason to go, but the cave is not manned by anyone, so I call it home.”

He looks around his creation affectionately.

“It is very beautiful, M’Baku. You did all of this?” You stand up, walking around slowly. 

M’Baku stands following you. “Yes, not overnight, but I did manage. It does what I need it to.”

You breathe in deeply, it even smelled good; spicy and fresh, the wood creates an aroma that eases your tension.

“I just can’t believe someone can make all of this and be alone, without any help from the outside. It’s admirable.” You say turning around to face him.

He looks down humbly. “It wasn’t easy, by any means, to cultivate the wood and bring it to a livable space. I’ve waited so long for this. I have help from my god, Hanuman. That is enough for me to get by most of the time.”

Silence falls between the both of you as you wonder what time it is. “We have until morning, right?” 

M’Baku nods. “I don’t want to risk an attack on you getting back.”

You yawn stretching. “So then, if you don’t mind, I will need to get some rest then if you don’t mind.”

He nods. “Of course. You can have the bed tonight. I am not feeling very tired, so I’ll keep watch.” He gets up to stand near the entrance of the cave with his club.

You make you way to a back room that has a bed with natural wood posts. The mattress made well, soft but firm so you don’t sink. You take off your shoes and lay underneath his, encased in the smell of him. You can see him posted from where you lay, and you think about how his life must be having been alone for so long. That couldn’t be good on his psyche. You wind down, overcome with sleep as his figure blurs into darkness.

When you wake, it is M’Baku that shakes you to get up.

“You must leave now. Before your friends worry.” M’Baku commands. 

You stretch, trying to gain your bearings. “It’s fine. They aren’t bothering me because of my leg.”

M’Baku tosses your coat at you, helping you put on your shoes. “I saw law enforcement at your cabin. They could be looking for you, (Y/N).”

You finally understand the seriousness as you get your coat on and finish off putting on your shoes. “Ok, ok. I’m going.” 

You get up to get out of the cave with M’Baku following close behind putting on his gear. Once you reach the mouth of the cave you stop. M’Baku starts to put on his mask but you keep him from it.

“Wait. M’Baku, you shouldn’t be in this cave alone forever, I want you to know that.”

He looks down at you with a hardened stare. “I don’t have a choice in that. It was the card I was dealt.”

“But you don’t have to settle! You can change things if you really want to.”

“I do not want to. I have managed with no problems.”

“But with what experiences? Friends, family, love. What is there to show?”

M’Baku puts on his mask, walking out of the cave. You hang your head and follow.

Before you make it down the slope to head back, you leave him with something. “M’Baku, you have so much more to show the world. I am sure they would be willing to listen. I am willing, after all you have told me.”

“The world is not as open, trust me.” M’Baku says.

“I’m not them. Can you do me one favor?”

“I do not provides services!” M’Baku exclaims. 

“Please, I want to see you again before my trip is up. But I don’t want to be eaten by wolves or fall into a ditch, so tell me when can I see you?”

M’Baku pauses. Through the mask you had no clue what he was thinking or doing, but you hoped for his consideration.

“I mean, I can come by and risk life and limb if you want me too. You have better medical care skills than anything else around here.” You say, challenging him.

“Come by when you see the smoke coming from the side of the mountain. I won’t keep it burning a long time, so you will need to pay attention, and I will wait.” M’Baku says.

You smile. “That will work! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

You are practically skipping as you make your way back to the cabin, which is a mess and a half. The cops weren’t there but three worried white women were. 

“(Y/N)! How long have you been gone? We check on you for breakfast, and find that you were gone!” Sarah says, arms crossed.

You hold your hands up in surrender. “I know, I know. I should’ve told you guys where I had been, but I just needed a little me time, is all.”

“You have been getting ‘me time’ ever since the attack at the cave! We got the cops involved, we were worried!” Michelle exclaims.

“You look at her suspiciously. “They aren’t checking the cave out, right?” you ask.

Michelle shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. I can’t really say but if so, is that so bad?”

Your heart pounds, thinking about what might be done. “You gotta call them off, they can’t go to the cave!”

Sarah looks at you worried. “Why? They are professionals, all they have to do is shoot the damn thing-”

“NO!” You shout angrily.

All the girls stare at you astonished. You clear your throat and try to speak with reason.

“I mean, just, don’t waste taxpayer dollars with this. You may be trying….to extinguish an extinct species or something, you don’t know,, and you’re trying to kill it? It didn’t hurt anybody, remember? Just scared us a little.”

Taylor comes up to you, giving you a hug. “I’ll let them know you are safe and just went for a walk or something. We won’t stress you out about this, ok?”

You hug Taylor back, grateful for her compassion. You kept trouble at bay from M’Baku at least one more day. You couldn’t bear causing heat to catch up with him for as long as he had been able to be alone.

Up in your room you pull your phone out of the pocket but a secondary object touches your fingers. Pulling it out, you find a miniature wooden carving of a gorilla in mid stride, looking regal and proud. You look over it curiously for a moment before you realize its origins. Looking out your window you see the smoke coming from the top of the cave. You doubt he could see you but you wave in the general direction, thanking him internally as you held the figure close to you. It held the same smell of the wood in his living area, and brought you instant peace. Maybe someday the world can know his kind heart and talent. But until then, you hoped you could experience as much of it as you can on your own.

The girls gave you a full gamut of act of activities to do next day with you and make up for lost time. You found out that Sarah hooked up with Jamie, but he didn’t last long and asked if she knew a cocaine dealer because apparently that help with it. Michelle played card games that involved stripping of their clothes and taking shots, and David was not able to hang in there for the grand prize. She was unsure if that meant she won, but she took it as such since he was a weak drinker. And Taylor just avoided Jackson as much as possible to ensure he got the full entire gist that she was completely uninterested in his advances.

“So if you were still interested, he should be good and ready for you.” Taylor tells you jokingly.

Taking a sip of your drink you scoff. “Yeah, a guy that leaves me to die in the snow and picks every single White girl over me sounds like a prize.”

Sarah laughs but it’s a little off. “I mean, what’s wrong if he like white girls, its a preference, you know?”

The room goes quiet. “Uh, Sarah, are you serious?” You ask her, controlling your rage.

“I mean, if he likes white girls, that doesn’t make him less than. I mean, Taylor has a Black guy. That’s insulting to her and me. What’s wrong with-”

“If you are seriously asking me what is wrong with white women, I swear to God-”

Taylor interrupts. “Heyyyy, maybe more drinks will suffice this arguing, huh?” She fills their cups and turns up some music, leading you to the upstairs. “Hey, she’s ignorant, we all know it. It’s not worth a fight.”

“We might as well! Cuz if she said that on the street, her ass would be laid out!” You say, chugging your drink.

Taylor grabs for it gently. “Mk, mk. You’re good. We only got a day left, so come on, just ignore her. Say you’re on our period or something to skip going out and it’ll all work out til we’re on the plane going our separate ways.”

You nod unconvincingly to agree, making Taylor laugh. “Hey, are you calling it a night?”

“I think so, it’s just draining to talk to her about anything substantial. And she wonders why I check out.” you say opening your door.

“Sure. Call me if you need something, ok?” Taylor says going down the stairs. 

You go to your room staring listlessly at your wood carving in your hands, sniffing the natural smell from it. You look out of your window bored and restless to observe outside. As you look in the distance, you see the smoke like coming up from the cave’s location. You take a moment to think properly about your options and decided that in a few more hours it would be best to finally visit M’Baku again once more, thanking him for his hospitality and wishing him well.

The trek up was quiet this time around. You barely even heard the wind blowing as you journeyed up to the opening of the cave, somewhat a pro at it now. You go in the cave and carefully make your way down through the dark until you saw the familiar light of his living space. However, he was nowhere to be seen.

You take a seat by the fire awkwardly, waiting for his arrival as you look around his place again. You didn’t notice the plaque above his room saying “Jabari”, maybe a family name? You decide to go and look into his bedroom, for the possibility of him being there, but no such luck. You run your hands along the soft sheets, wanting so badly to lay on them again but you dared not to, being an unknown guest at the moment. A door in the back of the room catches your eye. It looks heavy and suspicious and sends your curiosity into overdrive. 

As you walk to it, you try the latch…

“I didn’t expect you to be waiting in my bedroom.” M’Baku says behind you.


End file.
